A traders’ association has urged the government to probe the business models of 16 technology startups and ecommerce companies, including Flipkart, Amazon, Zomato, Swiggy and Oyo, arguing that incurring huge yearly losses and earning revenue were not healthy business practices.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) wrote to commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday, appending the list of companies – Paytm, Big Basket, Grofers, Ola, Delhivery, Lenskart, Pepperfry, Rivigo, MakeMyTrip, PhonePe and Medlife too – along with their annual revenue and loss figures.
“Not only their business models, but (also) their respective foreign investments and its disbursal, aspect of avoidance of GST and Income Tax revenue and probabilities of burning cash should also be investigated,” Praveen Khandelwal, national secretary-general of CAIT, said.
The companies named in the list did not respond to emails seeking comment. They have previously denied any wrongdoing.
“If ecommerce is a loss business, then the government should seriously think about ending the ecommerce business in India or take such steps to remove the distortions of the ecommerce business,” Khandelwal added.
CAIT has been demanding a robust ecommerce policy and a regulator or ombudsman.
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